Hey Guys. Sorry it's been awhile. I had exams and then the holidays and all that fun stuff. So anyways I found the time to update and you guys better review because it's late here and it's almost New Year's Eve and my laptop is like dead. Anyways I hope you like this chapter. I'm going to make it my new years resolution to get back to updating once a week like I used to, that was fun wasn't it? Well anyways please review and have a fun, safe new years.

I'll leave you with a quote:

~We'll have the time of our lives, although we're dying inside~ Blink 182, "Natives"


Lia

The three guys were sitting on the couch, playing Pedro's Xbox. I sat on the floor staring at the clock, it was half past midnight.

Cruz was probably dead. Juan's guys probably killed him. His parents wouldn't know, they would still be occupied by his sister's graduation party. They probably thought he ran off to Salem's house or something.

I racked my brain for an idea.

"I gotta pee," I told the three idiots.

"Whatever," The short, pudgy one said.

As I headed to the bathroom I turned back to look at them. None of them were paying attention to me.

There was a window in the bathroom, my luck had turned. I climbed onto the toilet and quietly pushed the window open. It was a tiny window, but I managed to force my petite body through it. I sliced my arm on a loose shingle on the house and hissed under my breath.

I didn't have time to stop and look at the damage. I sprinted as fast as I could towards Sam's house. There wasn't any lights on, his door was locked for once. I rummaged around for the extra key hidden in his mailbox and unlocked the door.

The phone was sitting on the counter and I sprinted to it. My hands shook as I dialed 911.

"911 what's your emergency?" A voice on the other end asked.

"Send an ambulance to the old sawmill on the edge of Fairfield. There has been a gang jumping, people could be hurt bad."

Then I hung up and sprinted back to my house.

The window was still open and I wiggled my way through it. There was knocking and shouting at the door and the boys were trying to get inside.

I opened the door, "Jesus, you're gonna wake up my sister-in-law."

"Why the fuck weren't you answering the door?" The tall one asked.

I shrugged and held up my bleeding arm, "I fell, I was more concerned with my blood than the three boneheads knocking down the door."

The chubby one turned green at the sight of my arm.

"Oh, so you're in a gang, but you stand the sight of blood. That tells you something."

He launched at me and slammed me into the fall, "I'm in the Blood for mi familia," he hissed.

The boy that stayed quiet all night stepped in and ripped the fat one off of me, "Jose, step off!"

I looked at the three of them and saw the shock register their faces, all three of them. The tall one and the pudgy one shocked that the quiet one stepped up and said something. The quiet one surprised at himself.

"Fine, Santi. You want to play that game than leave. We don't need you, you ruin the fun," The pudgy one, Jose said.

Santi shrugged and started heading for the door.

"Wait," I called after him.

He stopped and turned around slowly.

"Don't leave me," I told him, putting all my trust in him.

He looked at me for a long time and then sighed, "Come on."

I gladly walked towards him and followed him out the door.

He didn't say anything for a long time. He was quiet as he led us towards the shores of the lake.

The last time I was on the beach with a guy, it didn't end good. Now that guy was in trouble and I could only sit back and hope for the best.

Santi sat down in the sand and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

He had to be only my age, but he was smoking. It was excepted around here that as soon as you got jumped into The Blood you started smoking, you were already drinking before hand most likely.

"It's Lia, right?" He asked.

I nodded and he shook my head when he offered me a smoke.

"I'm Santiago, everybody calls me Santi."

I looked straight into the giant lake and nodded.

"This Cruz kid that's getting jumped in tonight, you're close to him?"

I shrugged, "Kind of. I thought we kind of had a thing, but I don't think we really do now."

Santi exhaled his smoke and sighed, "Did you know that I'm Jorge's son?"

My head snapped to him, "You mean the Jorge mi madre killed?"

He nodded, his eyes showing no emotion.

"I'm sorry," I said fighting back tears.

He looked at me and laughed, "Don't be. He was a horrible person, I never really met him. My ma just told me. He would show up on her doorstep every now and then and ask for money or booze, my ma hid me from him pretty good."

I shook my head, "That's horrible."

He shrugged, "Not that unusual around here."

We were quiet for a while, until he broke it.

"When I heard he was killed I almost rejoiced, but when I heard why he died I knew I couldn't. I mean what your ma did is beyond hateful. When I heard about you, I've been wanting to meet you."

I looked at him, he was putting his cigarette out in the sand, "How come I've never seen you around before?"

He shrugged, "I like to lay low. I didn't want to get jumped into the blood, I didn't want to be like mi padre. Juan threatened to hurt my little brothers and mi madre. He said that Jorge was loyal and that I had his blood in me."

"How old are you anyways?"

"Seventeen," He said lighting another cigarette.

"You know Sam?"

He nodded, "Cool kid. You broke his heart when you left, you know. I thought he was never going to get over you. He Sleeps with a different girl every night, trying to erase you."

My heart fell when I heard these words, I didn't understand Sam's way of doing things even after I knew him for so long.

"Why'd you stand up for me?"

He blew out a huge cloud of smoke, "Somebody had to. Let me guess, you've been knocked around your whole life. Hell you don't even have a bed at your brother's house. My father ruined everything for you."

I shook my head, "No, mi madre did."

Santi flicked the butt into the water of Lake Michigan and looked up at the moon his brown eyes, clearly hazel in the bright light.

"What were they doing to Cruz tonight?" I asked him silently.

He stiffened, I knew he didn't want to answer, "They were jumping him in how Alex got jumped out. It's pretty brutal I hear. I'm new to all this, I don't want to understand how bad it is until I have to. I just hope that kid makes it out alive."

"I called the cops," I said quietly.

I saw him swallow hard, "You have balls."

I didn't respond.

"Mierda, look at your arm!" He shrieked and grabbed my arm.

More blood than what I expected was leaking out of my arm and I stared at it wide eyed.

"Come on," He said helping me to my feet.

We started walking back to the direction we came from. I wasn't shocked to find him going towards Sam's house.

Sam's friends were always popping in when they needed something. They could hide drugs from their parents, they could have sex with their girlfriends, or fix any gang related injury.

"You were here earlier, you got blood all over the carpet," Santi said as soon as he opened the door.

I nodded, "This is where I called the cops."

He smiled, "You're a smart one."

I shrugged and let him run my arm under the faucet.

I held my arm there while he went to the bathroom to look for supplies. He came back with gauze, disinfectant spray, and bandages.

I took my arm away from the faucet and he dried it with a towel.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I asked him.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I've dealt with worse than this."

"Like what?"

"I once dressed Jose's stab wound and a gun wound."

I looked at him with amazement.

He shrugged, "I kind of want to be a doctor. I guess I kind of am the doctor for the Blood, when stuff gets really bad."

I smiled, "That's cool. I want to be a doctor too."

He looked at me, "That's what Sam said. Said that he had to let you go, or else it would never happen for you."

I nodded.

He sighed and sprayed the spray over my arm and I cringed.

"I fear sometimes that I'm not gonna get out of this hellhole. I fear that I'm never going to get to do what I want to do, 'cause this fuckin' gang is holding me back."

I shook my head, "Don't let it hold you back. I say talk to Pedro, he'll know what to do."

He nodded, "You're brother is a pretty chill guy. He understands that hardly any us wants to be in the LB."

Santiago started wrapping my arm up and his hands were almost magic, making me relax. I forgot about Cruz, for a second. It wasn't the fact that he was cute or charming, which I admit he was, it was the fact that I could relate to him

"You don't have many friends, do you?" He asked me.

I shook my head, "With Cruz and Sam out of the way, I don't think I have any."

He cocked his head, "I'll tell you what. You help me and I'll help you. We could make a good team, we've been through similar shit. I'll be your friend if you'll be mine."

He held out his hand and I took it and with a shake I clenched my first friend in a long time.

Santi agreed to stay with me at Sam's house. I was sleeping on the couch, he slept on the floor. We wanted to wait for Sam to get home.

At around two the door rattled open and Sam's figure stumbled in.

Santi got to his feet and helped Sam through the door and sat him down on the foot of the couch.

Sam looked at me, his eyes bloodshot. He was obviously doing more than just drinking, he had to be high.

"I killed him," He spit out.

Santiago's head turned to mine and mine stayed glued on Sam's.

"Who?" I asked, my mind filling with fear and chaos.

"Who the fuck do you think, Lia. He was just laying there and sounding like a dog who just got ran over by a car. His whimpers and moans were gut twisting. I had a gun, I had the option to save him from the pain."

"I could've sat and watched him suffer, like I should've, but I knew that he meant something to you so I pulled the trigger."

"Sam," I shrieked.

Santi sat down next to me, "Relax, Lia. He did the right thing. Just hear him out."

I shook my head, tears running down my cheeks.

Sam closed his eyes, "Don't cry. You know I can't stand when you cry. I didn't kill Cruz, I saved his fuckin' life by looking like I killed him. I freaked everybody out, and made them think that he was dead. They couldn't fuck with him anymore, that little bastard had it in him to fight. I knew it would work out."

"Sam," I muttered again, tears still dripping down my face.

I couldn't believe it. Cruz had a chance and it was because of Sam.

Santi looked at Sam, "If you didn't kill Cruz, who the hell did you kill?"

Sam buried his head in his hands and through his tears I could make out one word, "Rio."